It has been a long time since I shared my abundant life on this blog! I dislike excuses, but sometimes we have reasons. I guess my main one would be that, along with family and friends, I am besotted with hands-on pastimes many of which are pictured here.

I have loved making things for most of my life but making has become a passion. I LOVE creating: textured yarns on my spinning wheels, music on my piano, garments on knitting needles, amateur but infinitely satisfying water media art*, gardens indoors and out, soaps for face and body (we have not bought soap for our household since 1976!); and I may have omitted a passion (happy obsession?) or two—not to mention the ubiquitous books which line our shelves and floors.

However today I woke up inspired to share a personal story—actually the very reason I am enjoying an abundant life, so overflowing with excitement that I sometimes fight going to sleep at night and get up with anticipation most days because there is so much to make! If you have read my story on this or one of my other blogs, I do hope you will read it again!

Back in 1971, I was a wife and mother of five children** ranging from ages 7 to 15. Life was tremendously good in terms of family and circumstances—but not good inside my soul. The world was spinning and changing too fast and some of my life props and idealisms had been pulled out from under me, like the magician’s trick of pulling a tablecloth off a table while the dishes remain intact.

Visibly, I was intact. The dishes were on the table. But inwardly I was a mess! For months I’d had a sense of aching emptiness, a void which all my daily joys could not fill. The void consisted of a lack of meaning. I desperately longed for inner peace. What was wrong with me, that I had such desperation when my outward life seemed so good?

I’ve always looked for answers in books. Our local library was within walking distance of home, and I walked there a lot—trying to make sense out of life and find peace for my hungry soul via the world’s philosophies and religions, especially the mystic Eastern religions which appeared to offer the thing I needed most: peace.

And although I rarely let myself face reality, deep inside I knew I was desperately flawed inside my head and heart. I was the problem. I was the reason I lacked peace!

I avoided the old-fashioned word for my condition, but in rare moments of truth I acknowledged that word: SIN. I was a sinner. After devouring many books I found the Eastern religions to be flimsy, lacking in a down-to-earth reality which could change me.

What was the answer? Was there an answer? On the third Saturday in January, 1971, I said to my husband, very emphatically, “Something is missing from my life!” Once again, I trundled off to the library to look for answers. Having exhausted many overly-wordy, allegedly “meaty” books in the spiritual and self-help sections of the library—I “just happened” to find a very slim little book, simply titled PEACE WITH GOD.

Maybe I thought, “Well why not? I’ve read most everything else on these shelves.” Or maybe I wasn’t even thinking. But I checked out the tiny book, PEACE WITH GOD. That evening, after the household had settled into a Saturday night routine, I read the book thoroughly, absorbing its contents.

In very simple, unpretentious language, and with Biblical references, PEACE WITH GOD presented the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All of mankind is in bondage to sin. God came to earth in the Person of Jesus Christ, to die on a cross at Calvary—for our sins, for my sin. Jesus paid the penalty, and rose to defeat the power of sin and death. He lives. He is Eternal God, an all loving, all just, all righteous, all merciful God. When we believe in Jesus and His finished work on our behalf, He forgives our sin. We are washed clean with His blood, and He gives us His life—with His victory over the powers of darkness, His peace regardless of circumstances as we look to Him and abide in Him, growing in Him through His Word, The Bible.

The book explained how we could do nothing, absolutely nothing. Yet when we believe in Jesus, we have the free gift of Eternal Life with Christ Who is God—and we can have His spiritual victory over sin, His abundant LIFE on earth, His new life in exchange for our old sinful life which died with Jesus on that cross! I distinctly recall a sense of peace from reading the book, but it was a kind of sad and wistful peace. I recall saying to myself, “Oh, if only that were true!”

The next day, Sunday, I surprised myself by suddenly arranging to go to a Bible Church in the neighborhood I called a friend who attended that church, and she and her husband agreed to pick me up. We entered a bit late, and the congregation was singing a Gospel hymn; I had never in my life heard such singing. I recall thinking, “It’s as of they believe what they’re singing about.”

During the sermon that morning, God very clearly and simply picked me up and lifted me into His Kingdom—the Kingdom of Forgiveness and Love. In retrospect I see that God used that Sunday worship service as a catalyst for my salvation. Suddenly I knew that Jesus was real, and I needed His forgiveness, His Life—and that understanding landed me into Christ.

But I was totally ready to be born into God’s Kingdom that Sunday morning. I’d been prepared the night before, when I read a slim little book called PEACE WITH GOD, by Billy Graham.

As I left the church on that bitter cold January day in Wisconsin, the sun on the snowdrifts seemed nearly blinding. At that point I knew nothing of Scripture, except that I was a new creation in Christ. I was forgiven, and I was raised up with Him, That night I picked up a childhood Bible which I had never read; I’d tried a couple of times but it simply had not made sense to me. But now I found myself in John 15, and it made all the good plain sense in the world. “I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me, and I in him, bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing.” And “This is my commandment, That ye love one another as I have loved you.” And “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you . . . .”

(As a lover of the Old Bard, William Shakespeare. the King James Bible replete with “eth” and “ye” seemed natural to me, and still does!)

Meanwhile, back in 1971 my peace and joy were palpable—and I was so excited that I could not keep my mouth shut. As the days progressed I told nearly everyone I knew about the Savior—even our vet as he was negotiating with our sick pet, either a cat or a dog; we had many of both.

Now, with many years of Scripture in my soul, I can witness that God has never failed me in anyway, and although I have sometimes failed to pay attention, or to obey my Lord. Jesus Christ sustains me. New LIFE. Abundant LIFE! Articulately and succinctly explained to me long ago, in a tiny gem of a book, PEACE WITH GOD, by the late Billy Graham.

The Lord Jesus is the reason for my abundant, hands-on life. And my blogging life, as well, when I blog. 🙂

*I have updated my art blog on occasion. Just GOOGLE “Margaret Been’s MESSY PALETTE.” Art is a language universal, and hits come from everywhere—including Afghanistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia as well as all over Europe, Oriental countries, South America, and our neighbors to the North.

**We had one more child, in 1976—adding up to 4 girls and 2 boys. They are Joe’s and my best friends.

“And I said, ‘Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then I would fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.’ ” Psalm 55:6-7

David was intimidated and beleaguered by his enemies when he wrote this plaintive Psalm. Yet those of us who love solitude, and seek it with a passion, can echo the words: “For then I would fly away and be at rest.”

Numerous are the critics of the Kaufman family who set off with a baby and a toddler on a 30-something foot sailing vessel, with the goal of crossing the Pacific. But for the response of the U. S. Navy in San Diego and other rescuers, this family might be added to the endless list of tragic current events. Yet I love the name of their craft, REBEL HEART, and something innate draws me to this family. Although life-threatening adventure has never been my forté, a passion for solitude is an integral factor in my DNA. I identify with the need to “wander off”—even when country roads, inland waters, and forest trails are more in line with my instincts than the Pacific Ocean.

When I grew up in the 30s and 40s, solitude was easily accessible. We had a quiet household, and I could always hide under a chair or, by the time I was 8 years old, in a tree. Our only “devices” were: a telephone, a radio (in a cabinet with a phonograph record player), a doorbell, and a clock which did nothing more than tell the time. The understanding that every individual on earth needed space and time “to wander off” was a given in our home, and we respected each other’s privacy.

Today I wonder how many younger people (with the exception of a few individualistic types like the Kaufmans) even begin to comprehend what solitude actually is, let alone want to pursue it. An astonishing amount of everyday life is social, groupy, organized, and pre-planned—frequently controlled by the detached stroke of a finger on a device.

I see people striding the park path outside our front door, with eyes and ears (or both) literally glued to whatever device at hand. Do they hear the mourning dove in the bush, or the sand hill cranes yodeling overhead in the clouds? Do they see the fat, pregnant buds on the chestnut tree a few feet from the path? When May wafts in, will the device-laden striders even bother to inhale and exclaim over the perfume of the French lilacs which abound in our neighborhood? Will the device-embellished ears be able (or even want!) to hear the fountain in our local pond, or the redwings nesting in the reeds beside our local lake?

Our park path is lovely, bordered by a nature preserve on the east side. It deserves strollers, as well as striders—some of whom may be hustling along for the sake of good health. Strollers like me also walk for health—soul health, which I happen to think is even more vital (and certainly more eternally valuable) than the beneficial aspect of body maintenance. Yet the majority of park users stride rather than stroll.

I often wonder what the present generation of activity-driven, device-dependent, socially-oriented individuals will do when they add a few years and the inevitable stresses of life to their résumés of non-stop everything—everything but substance for soul and spirit, that is. I visualize that an indescribable dryness will set in—a thirst which no material goods, or frenzy for social contacts and career advancements, will ever quench in a million years.

DRY, DRY, DRY! The absence of everything but perhaps a desire to “wander off”—without even beginning to fathom how that may be done! No turned upside down chair to hide under. No metaphorical tree. No hypothetical REBEL HEART sailboat. A park path perhaps, but not even the foggiest knowledge of how to stroll rather than stride on the path, with all ones senses attuned to the beautiful nature along the way.

Off course the only lasting cure for dryness, driven-ness, and people-produced burn-out is to drink deeply from the well-spring of LIVING WATER in Christ Jesus—to accept His sacrifice for our sin at Calvary and rejoice in His Risen Life which indwells those of us who trust in Him. He provides a depth of inner solitude wherever we are. That solitude is fed by removing ourselves whenever we can—from the crowd, from our electronic devices and our daily agendas.

And that solitude is fed by whatever kind of retreat appeals to whomever we are—be the escape a turned over chair, a tree, a forest trail, a park path, or a sailing vessel.

I’m thankful for the Kaufman family—for the fact that they have returned safely. I pray that their sick little one will continue to heal with no complications. And I’m thankful for the Kaufmans’ reminder of something important: a passion for solitude. Although my preferences run to forest trails, the rivers and lakes of Wisconsin, and the path around our neighborhood park, I thoroughly track with concept behind the REBEL HEART! 🙂

Margaret L. Been, April 2014

NOTE: Awhile back, a Christian friend described me to a group we were in together, with these words: “Look at her. She has REBEL written all over her.”

We all laughed, realizing that my personal rebellions have nothing to do with any kind of anarchy. I will never challenge or rebel against my life-enhancing Judeo-Christian values. But yes, I do have a rebel heart. Perhaps I’ll share more of that with you in an future entry.

Or maybe I don’t need to share. Perhaps, in the 5 and 1/2 years I’ve been blogging you’ve discerned exactly what I mean by my rebel heart! 🙂

NOTE: The following entry is a replay of a recent piece which I posted on http://richesinglory.wordpress.com/ , my blog dedicated to “mining treasures in illness and pain”. Riches in Glory receives far fewer views than any of my other four websites. I’ve hoped that is because most of you simply do not have any illness and/or pain. But sometimes I wonder if many of my readers know that Riches in Glory even exists!

Meanwhile, for some unknown reason, today my “sick blog” is experiencing a tremendous leap in the amount of visitors. Thus I’ve decided to offer an encore of this recent entry. Since writers can more correctly be called “re-writers” the encore has been improved and otherwise clarified for Northern Reflections. Here’s a cyber repeat:

It’s been quite a few decades since the above photo was taken back in the days when little girls wore dresses in boats, and life jackets were only known to be used by sailors, marines, or brave souls crossing Lake Michigan in a rubber life raft—something my father actually did in the 1940s, to test wartime outboard motors produced by the company where he was employed.

Now I’ve recently embarked on Decade Number Nine! And so far, it’s great! Perhaps it’s great because we’ve occasionally heard that old age can be horrible. Unfortunately, for some it is! But for a person who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, life is good—yes even when it includes pain!

For some people acute health concerns are common; they come and go. But for others, illness or pain will move in permanently—sharing one’s space like an uninvited caller who arrives with cumbersome baggage while demanding an inordinate amount of attention. For the past eight years, I have been one of those “others”.

Although my chronic lumbar and sacral pain seemed highly disturbing at its onset, God has revealed amazing things through the presence of the uninvited guest. Our gracious Lord has blessed me with insights which put each day in its proper perspective. Hopefully you are not personally entertaining pain on a daily basis. Yet you undoubtedly know at least one person whose life has been rearranged, perhaps a family member or friend for whom you pray—and desire to encourage. Here are some of the gems regarding pain, that God has bestowed on me in recent years:

1) Pain is relative. The subjective “One to Ten” pain scale differs with individuals. There will always be someone who hurts more, someone who is drastically ill, someone who needs my prayersfar more than I need to pray for myself! Or even think about myself for that matter. From the internet I’ve printed out a heartbreaking letter from Pastor Saeed Abedini, imprisoned in Tehran, to his wife in the USA. No, I cannot begin to dwell on my pain!

2) Pain can be a friend. Pain reminds me to hang back rather than jump full speed ahead into some new and unnecessary responsibility or job. Pain is that friend who says, “Rest! Take it easy today, so that you will feel better tomorrow—and more able to do whatever the calendar has in store for you for the rest of the week.” Pain is the considerate friend who assures me I’m never to feel guilty for not being everywhere at once, or for not being all things to all people. I’m never to feel guilty when I hear that invasive, sanctimonious question, “And what are you doing for the Lord?” As Milton wrote on his blindness, “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

3) Pain affirms that I’m still intrinsically worthwhile in God’s eyes, even though I’m no longer the busy person I was for many years. Recently we celebrated Thanksgiving. Whereas for decades I fixed most of the meal and set our table for from 18 to 30 individuals, this year there were four of us—actually five, but the fifth is 5 months old and she sat on her mother’s lap while eating. The meal, company, and conversation were special! Dishes for four plus a few pans are not overwhelming with two people, our daughter and me, in charge of washing and cleaning up. A home is never dismantled or upset in the least, for only two extra adults and a baby.

Thanksgiving day was PERFECT, except that I crashed immediately after our company walked out the door to go home. All of the next day I was a zombie. I groped about our home like Victor Hugo’s Quasimodo, due to pain. Furthermore my GI system was down, like Healthcare.gov was for weeks, because I’d added 4000-something calories to my 94 pound frame which normally feels stuffed after consuming a typical 900 to 1000 calories per day.

“What is wrong with me?” I asked my husband. “It didn’t used to be like this. I used to feel fine the day after Thanksgiving.”

Joe just smiled and commented, “We’re old!”

Then my friend, Pain, agreed and said: “Just go to bed and quit trying to be so useful! Give yourself a break!”

How delightful it was to go to bed at 3:00 in the afternoon with my knitting, my art books, and Charles Krauthammer’s amazing Number 1 bestseller, THINGS THAT MATTER. Thank you, Pain!

4) Pain is nothing compared to the future glory in store for those of us who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18

What more do we need to know? At age 80, I’m contented—and oh so thankful! 🙂

Summer began around solstice time, with our 60th wedding anniversary celebration. This was held at our condo clubhouse, so no one’s home got stressed out—but I promise we will not plan a big whoop de doo for our 70th, as our hard working children and grandchildren went many extra miles with planning, serving, and cleaning up after the delightful June 22nd event.

Above, is a photo of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Been—gleaned from our daughter Debbie’s FACEBOOK page and taken a week ago beside Debbie and Rick’s pool. Although (fortunately) there are not 80 candles on the cake, that is how young I turned on August 8th, 2013. I think I am freaking out my family and friends by telling them that now I can start being eccentric. Predictably they are wondering, “Yikes, what’s next?”

In between these two family landmarks, I received my Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement. The six weeks mark was reached last Tuesday, and now I am able to hang up the sling and walk around with two arms free. It’s a treat to eat with my right hand again. (Actually I eat with spoons and forks, but they are held in my hand). I never did get graceful with the left, and I held my fork like it was a boat oar—very clutzy.

So now I’m watching the early morning mist form over our park, a characteristic of late summer. How can the days whirr by so fast? Constantly, I’m overwhelmed when I reflect on the blessings we enjoy every day and will never never take for granted! My recovery from surgery has been a gift from God worked out through the prayers and benevolence of family members and friends.

I’m thankful for Joe’s daily concern and assistance in so many ways—including weeks of enjoyable eating out together at our favorite restaurants. We began this two days after my surgery, along with resuming our rummaging adventures. (There is something so essentially wonderful about doing “normal” things after the trauma of rather radical surgery, with a 6 inch incision scar to prove it!)

I’m thankful for our daughter Laura’s visit from Washington State, starting on my surgery day. Laura helped me through those tentative first days when every move hurt and just getting washed, dressed, and groomed seemed like an insurmountable challenge. And for Debbie’s every ready concern—checking in on us, bringing good food, and scrubbing our floors. (Debbie knows how I love CLEAN!) I’m thankful for the phone calls, letters, companionship, and encouragement of many over the past weeks.

I’m eternally grateful for the medical expertise which made an effective shoulder prosthesis possible for me. The Reverse procedure is new within ten years in the USA. Twelve years ago there would have been no way to fix the considerable pain which is no longer there, thanks to amazing technology. The Standard replacement simply would not have addressed my issues. I’m thankful for a surgeon who performs this new procedure, as many orthopedic surgeons have not begun.

I’m thankful for the quiet hospital just minutes from our home—with private rooms for all patients, and plenty of comfortable space for one’s spouse to stay over night. I’m very grateful for the sweet young man, aPhysical Therapist named Daniel, who encouraged me and helped me so much prior to my hospital discharge. His soft-spoken, gentle kindness—while showing me the only movements I would be allowed for weeks to come—has stuck with me as a stellar example of professional expertise at it’s most personal best.* There is nothing like quiet kindness to promote healing, and Daniel’s sensitivity has overcome any unpleasant or jarring memories I have had of my hospital experience. Thanks to him, I’ve been able to “do it right” from start to finish!

I’m thankful for my precious Pembroke Welsh corgi, Dylan. He never fails to make me smile. I am certain that he understands most of everything I say to him, although admittedly I don’t launch into a lot of meaty philosophical discussions with Baby Dylan.

And here are photos (also gleaned from Debbie’s FACEBOOK page) of some other precious individuals (great-grandchildren) who never fail to make me smile:

My cup runneth over!!!

*I obtained all of my medical records of proceedings from the day of my discharge from the hospital on 7/3/13. For a 90 pound person, I have a very strange body chemistry: I sleep like a well-fed puppy on caffeinated beverages, while narcotic pain medications (which plow most people under) make me “bright eyed and bushy tailed”—and, I fear, loquacious. So I was naturally curious as to my conversations and interchanges recorded by the medical personnel on discharge day, after I’d received 24 hours of morphine via IV.

Although I might have knocked Daniel over with my bright eyed and bushy tailed verbal input, he recorded me as “Doing very well”,“Able to verbalize movement precautions”,“Independent” in all listed categories, “No difficulty” in doing what needed to be done, and “Agreeable“. Using the word “Cooperative”, my surgeon recorded the same observations in his write-up of our 7/3/13 exchange.

I was overjoyed to discover that I behaved myself like the lady I always desire to be! 🙂

My philosophical mother left me with many quotes on which to ponder, one of them being:“It takes all kinds of people to make a world.”

That certainly is a fact, as each of us was created to be unique. Each of us is an original piece of art. Although we may have similarities we were not intended to be prints or reproductions of another human.

I try to understand other people whose style and preferences differ from mine, and it’s just plain fun to discover whom people are and what “makes them tick”. Perhaps the best way to get acquainted with another person is by visiting in that individual’s home. I want to believe that most people who spend considerable time in their homes have some pastime they love, some kind of a life within their walls. This life may be reflected via the books on the shelves, the cookbooks and appliances in the kitchen, baskets and tables overloaded with crafting supplies, the presence of houseplants indoors and gardens outside the windows, a dog or cat (or both), and of course a musical instrument—perhaps more than one. The presence of art on the walls and family photos on shelves and tables says a lot—if indeed the walls, shelves, and tables are laden with pictures which are worth a thousand words.

But occasionally when visiting a home I draw the proverbial blank. No books, no projects, no art to reveal a period or style of interest, no messes, no pets, no plants beyond the “tastefully correct” one or two—potted in matching, stylized planters rather than those ice cream buckets and COOL WHIP® containers which frequently hold my overflow of greenery. Not even a happily messy computer corner! Sadly, only one piece of equipment normally characterizes the apparently wasteland homes: that ubiquitous television.

Quite possibly, the homes which appear sterile, sans personality, may not actually be like that at all. When one is a guest, one seldom sees all the nooks and crannies. In the most generic of furniture store homes, there are apt to be hidden away places where the residents read, craft, make music, or whatever. As interested as I am in people and their lifestyles, I certainly don’t want to be crass and ask to see their hidden recesses—the NO ENTRY zones of a house. So I give my host or hostess that benign benefit of the doubt. Certainly they have some life passion, some activity that causes them to jump out of bed each day and say “HELLO, WORLD!” Probably my host and hostess simply have chosen not to divulge exactly whom they are and what they are about.

I accept the preference for anonymity, and I understand that I may be the odd one in today’s world. I LOVE to share. I love to be transparent—an open 1000 page book with loads of information on every page. As much as I love to know, I love to be known. And as far as I know, that’s the way life was originally intended to be! Unlike that pair in the Garden after the fall, I have absolutely no desire to hide from God or anyone else!

Meanwhile, since Joe and I have moved into a four room condo it is easier than ever for visitors to ascertain what we are all about. Our interests pervade every corner of our home, for all to see and enjoy. We have never had more of ourselves on our walls, tables, shelves, and floors—and we are delighted beyond expression with the overflowing abundance of our current time of life. Crowded, YES! Even CLUTTERED—although to me “clutter” bespeaks random chaos, and I will have none of that.

Tidiness and order rule the day, and we can always stuff one more meaningful object into the order of our home. Minimalist gurus (who for some odd reason find no significance in memories manifested all around them, no joy in the colors and textures of a life well-lived) will call us “hoarders”. I call us “LOVERS OF LIFE”! Thus the spinning wheels (which really spin beautiful yarn from luxuriously fleeced sheep’s wool) lurk behind a favorite easy chair, accompanied by baskets of wool and more baskets of yarn—plus needles and other accoutrements of knitting.

My piano hosts an assortment of music books—and musical scores printed out and taped together so that I can play without turning pages. Our kitchen contains the necessaries—toaster, coffee pot, blender, crockpot—plus a representation of bygone eras in funky kitchen collectibles. Our dining area buffet serves as a display area for my soap industry—while hundreds more soaps are stacked in drawers and stored in huge plastic bins under furniture and in closets.

Our bedroom is also my art studio, with a messy table for acrylics, collaging, etc., and another table for watercoloring. Crammed into a bedroom corner is my writing studio with my very own laptop, printer/scanner, and voluminous files (I will always love paper).

My husband’s den is his bit of Heaven on earth with the TV, his own computer/printer/scanner, filing cabinet, posh reclining chair (suitable for snoozing on), and even a daybed for that occasional afternoon “lie down”. Joe keeps his clothes in a dresser and closet in his den, while our enormous bedroom closet houses my clothing plus bins and shelves laden with more soap and somewhere between 600 and 800 paintings. I tell our children they’ll have a post-humous fortune on their hands some day. (Obviously, I’m joking! My art is amateur stuff, paying dividends of endless and infinite fun!)

Both living room and bedroom have indoor garden areas—with tropicals in the east facing patio door, and succulents in our south facing bedroom window. And everywhere are BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS. Shelves groan with books, tables support the weight of them, and floors feature book towers in every room.

All of that—including a zest for collecting with a partiality for Victorian era art glass produced by our great American 19th century glass companies, English china, and most anything vintage and funky—goes a long way toward telling our guests whom we are, in this happiest of homes which I’m inviting you to tour with me today!

The above play area is a magnet for our great-grandchildren (16 children, ages 10 and under) who visit whenever they can. And my happy little kitchen beyond. (Actually, it’s Joe’s kitchen for the duration of my post-surgical, arm-in-sling adventure.)

My fiber studio resides behind a living room easy chair. The spinning wheels are not for “show” (although they are very beautiful, made from cherry wood). The spinning wheels spin, and produce luxury yarns for sweaters, scarves, and hats. Years ago, Joe made the pine dry sink for me. It houses my collection of English flow blue china and my Grandma Kate’s English (Aesthetic Period—circa 1885) Indus wedding dishes featuring graceful birds and foliage reminiscent of the British Empire in India.

Most of the baskets in our home are homemade. The one with the coral insert is an Irish potato basket, and below it with gorgeous ultra-marine blue/violet fleece inside is an egg basket—both crafted by moi. The larger basket, in the style of Wisconsin Native Americans’ basketry, was woven by our daughter-in-law, Cheri Been.

One of the many perks in our condo home is the fact that Joe and I each have our very own bathroom. What fun is that! Joe’s is the larger of the two, and it contains a shower which he loves. (I HATE showers, probably because they remind me of that most detested of all scenarios—high school gym class!) I have a tiny bathroom, but it contains a TUB (one of the great loves of my life).

I painted the blotchies on the upper walls, and our grandson, Tyler Been, painted the gorgeous New Mexico-ish red lower walls. This is my Louis L’Amour bathroom—replete with cowboy pictures, and photos of family members on horseback. As you can see on the above left, I have hung some of my own Southwestern art here as well.

Here is another shot of my sweet loo. The Civil War era folding chair is a family heirloom, with needlepoint painstakingly stitched by my mother many decades ago. I treasure the no-longer-available glass ARIZONA TEA® bottles, plus my collections of all things horsey and Western. (The oil painting on the left is not mine. It was a rummage sale prize, unearthed a few years ago.)

The messy inner sanctum of my studio is open to all who venture here, since we always have our company put their wraps on our bed. That’s an old fashioned thing to do, perhaps dating back to when closets were not so prevalent as they are today. To me, wraps on the bed are the most gracious way to go.

No home photo shoot would be complete without a glimpse of my soap. I brag about my soap way too much. It’s excellent, and we have used nothing but my home made soap since 1976. Today my soap is far removed from that crude stuff the pioneers made over an open fire, using fat drippings from their slaughters and kitchen grease cans.

I use the finest vegetable oils (olive being the Lamborghini of oils!) and pure, rendered tallow—all of which I purchase online from COLUMBUS FOODS in Chicago. High grade cosmetic pigments go into the soap for color, plus quality fragrance oils. I have online sources for these ingredients, as well. Soap making is an expensive hobby, well worth ever drop of cash and elbow grease involved! And we saponifiers always have a beautiful gift to offer our family members and friends—the gift of the finest soap.

Old painted furniture, dried hydrangeas, British India style shelves, platters and bowls which don’t fit in cupboards and thus are relegated to the floor, family photos, sparkling glassware including Vaseline glass with glass fruit, cookbooks, a teapot and cups and saucers (just a few of a plethora about the home), and a toy bear (also one of many) co-exist in happy harmony.

Now if you happen to be thinking, “This is really weird!” just remember: “It takes all kinds of people to make a world!”

A week after surgery I still wear that pained expression, but Baby Dylan looks great. Normally terrified of the Paparazzi, Dylan was captured off guard because he didn’t realize that a camera could lurk inside a cell phone. His “Mommy” is not that advanced, as blogging is the outside extent of my techie-ness. To me, a phone is a phone and a camera is a camera. I’m certain this will be the last time we’ll be able to fool Dylan into saying “Cheese”!

Since inserting pictures is easier for me at this point than keyboarding a lot of text, here are some recent ones taken just before my surgery. The pictures are worth thousands of words—of which I’ll add just a few for clarification:

Any of you parents, grandparents, and great grandparents have undoubtedly had at least one “Flat” in your life. Above you can see our third—“Flat Ethan”, a facsimile of Three Dimensional Ethan who lives far away in San Diego. Flat Ethan was not prepared for the quiet life Joe and I enjoy in Nashotah, Wisconsin (who ever heard of THAT?)—but he coped beautifully whether buying produce, eating at our neighborhood Chinese restaurant, or simply perusing books while Joe, Dylan, and I slept. (Since Three Dimensional Ethan loves books, it follows that Flat Ethan does likewise.)

Baby Adetokunba Bridget Josephine Adesokun at three weeks old. (Now she’s nearly six weeks.) Due to a stand off with MRSA and surgery, this was one of the last times I was able to hold Tuks—(rhymes with books). But better days are coming, soon!

Left to right: Joe, and our Denver grandsons Joel and Nathaniel Been with two of my paintings (framed in yellow) currently on exhibit at the Delafield Arts Center.

With all my present restrictions, a few activities are allowed and encouraged: knitting (only finger motion is required of my right hand when knitting), limited piano practice (again, fingers only in the treble clef), some keyboarding, and left handed art. The art delights my heart as more each year I’m realizing that abstraction (with a slight element of representation) is my forté—the “Whom I Really Am” in this recently discovered passion.

A large factor in abstract expressionism is the discarding of presumptions, assumptions, and that human desire for “control”. What remains? A serendipitous freedom from agendas or any kind of “other generated” expectations. This freedom is possible only in the arts! We certainly wouldn’t want it anywhere else—that would be anarchy!!!

Those of you who share my vintage years will recall the above words from the Saturday evening radio Hit Parade. The ditty signaled the end of the program, to which I listened faithfully in the mid 1940s. Now I am vicariously singing “so long” to you.

On Tuesday, July 2nd, I’m scheduled for a Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement. This revolutionary surgery was developed in France in the mid 1980s, but not approved in the USA until 2003. The first RTSR was performed in our country in 2004. Before that, there would have been no help and no hope for my right shoulder and arm.

The procedure is revolutionary because it reverses the natural position of the shoulder joint—by reversing the parts of the prosthesis so that the ball is on the top and the socket (rotator cuff) is beneath the ball rather than on top of it. When the rotator cuff tendons and bicep are severely torn, as mine are to a point where they can never be recycled into use, the Reverse procedure employs the deltoid muscle to empower the arm after a long period of healing.*

Unlike most joint replacements which mandate a regimen of Physical Therapy, the Reverse Shoulder Replacement requires inactivity for at least six weeks. No Physical Therapy is allowed, with the exception of occasionally removing the arm from its sling and dangling it straight down—and very limited use of the forearm, which is to lift nothing heavier than a teacup. I’ve been told that I’ll be able to do some finger work such as knitting and keyboarding, if and when pain permits.

I’m overwhelmed with gratitude, to have this medical miracle! According to my web sources, many orthopedic surgeons have not yet begun doing the Reverse Replacement—perhaps due to the fact that the Standard version works for many people. I’m blessed to have a hospital 13 minutes from our door, and a surgeon who does the Reverse.

The rest of my summer will be a hiatus indeed. There’s a trace of humorous irony in this scenario, since I am a person who loves to (and thrives on) doing with my hands and arms—specifically making things. Except for a bit of computer use, and possibly knitting a few rows now and then, my hobbies will be curtailed. The Lord is showing me that I will have to get along without making things for the duration, and I’m getting the message.

The post-op weeks will be a time for stretching and growing. A time for extra praying, reading, resting, and returning. A time for lying on our patio lounge and watching the clouds. “So long . . . !”

Margaret L. Been, 2013

Note: This condition of severe arthritis coupled with largely torn tendons is called Arthropathy.